38. KADENCE

KADENCE

“ Y ou’ve gone to the clouds there, sweetheart.”

I look up to see Marlowe leaning against the bar top, smiling softly at me. Her long blonde hair is pulled back into a low pony. She’s wearing jeans and a white tank top with the club’s logo printed on the front of it and still doesn’t look old enough to be anyone’s mother.

“Sorry,” I say softly, my eyes catching the glare Layla has tossed my way.

“Ignore them,” Marlowe says plainly, pushing herself off the bar.

I let out a soft chuckle as I clear off a few of the empty beer bottles that litter the wooden counter. “That’s easier said than done.”

“You know the difference between you and those girls?” Marlowe says with a raised brow. She busies herself pouring more beers as she speaks. “You’re here helping, keeping the guys happy.”

“I’m not better than them, Marlowe.” I shake my head. “They keep the guys happy in their own way. Ways I’m not willing to. I can’t fault them for that.”

“That.” Marlowe points a finger at me. “ That is what separates you from them.”

I raise a brow at the older woman, confusion written on my features. “I don’t understand.”

“Because even as an old lady, you don’t see them differently and that,” she grins, filling a tray with beers, “is what makes you club material darlin’. It’s what makes you a good fit for Nash.”

I look up at Marlowe who smiles as she picks up the tray. “How do you–”

“I see and hear everything sweetie, you’re healing this club and don’t even realize it. You’re gonna make a great old lady.”

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I watch Marlowe move around the edge of the bar and over to a table full of members. Some I haven’t met before and a couple I have. I recognize Quinn. West is sitting with him, laughing with a few of the guys, but when Quinn catches my eye he grins at me. Something in his smile crawls up my spine, turning the hairs on the back of my neck to stand straight. It doesn’t feel like just a friendly grin. There’s something off about it.

I tear my gaze from him, turning back to the bar where Layla stands with an empty drink in her hand and waves it in front of me.

“Since you’ve turned bar bitch,” she sneers in a sickly sweet tone, “you can get me a drink.”

A laugh huffs from me. “I’m not your servant, Layla. Get it yourself.”

“Aw, but sweetie, here’s the thing.” Layla moves around the edge of the bar, leaning over it and pushing her breasts against the wood. “You’re standing behind the bar, slinging drinks to the men. I’m just as important as them, Kadie. So, do us all a favor and act like the little wench you are and get me a fucking drink.”

I glance around in disbelief. My last run-in with Layla didn’t go the best, but this? This is straight catty bullshit that belongs in high schools. Blake’s nowhere to be found and Marlowe is busy talking with a few of the other girls.

“Are you fucking deaf?” Layla hisses, “I told you–”

“I heard what you said Layla,” I bite. “Doesn’t mean I have to listen to it.”

A bitter cackle leaves her as she stands up straight again. “I can’t wait for the day Holden decides to leave your ass. Sends you back to whatever hole you crawled from.”

“I’m sorry, did I miss the requirement of total bitch when I showed up today?” I cross my arms over my chest. “I suggest you walk away from me now.”

Layla steps forward once more, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “Or what?”

I drop my arms, my fists clenching at my sides. She is testing my patience, and right about now those boxing tips Dex gave me seem very nifty. “Walk away from me, Layla.”

The sneer on her face somehow grows, and her dark lipstick pulls tight against her lips. Layla raises her hand and it takes everything in me not to move. Not to give her the satisfaction of getting under my skin. Instead of whatever she has planned, Layla snags a bottle of tequila off the wall, dragging it down to her side.

“Watch your back, bitch,” she warns as she turns and walks away.

I let out a breath I don’t realize I’m holding just as the guys push through the main door, plates of food in their hands. I press a hand to my forehead as I turn towards the back wall behind the bar, at least to try and catch a breath.

“Hey,” Holden’s voice catches me off guard as his hand wraps around my waist, “you okay?”

I glance up at him, forcing a smile as I nod. “Yeah, fine.”

He raises a brow down at me. “You sure?”

Just then the group of women erupt in laughter again. This time it’s so loud it carries over the sounds of the clubhouse. I glance over my shoulder where Layla raises the tequila bottle in the air, her eyes glued on the two of us.

Holden tugs me to his chest, dipping his head so he catches my gaze. “Layla givin’ you shit?”

I sigh and press my hands to his chest. “It’s fine.” I look over my shoulder again at the women but it’s Holden’s fingers that gently grip my chin, tugging my gaze back to his.

“We don’t lie to each other,” he says firmly, but the soft look in his eyes soothes my racing heartbeat. “If she’s causing issues, she’s out.” A coy smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “No one disrespects my old lady.” He teases pressing his lips to my temple.

“Holden, it's fine.”

He studies me for a moment longer. “I’ll tell Cole to get her out.”

I shake my head as he moves to pull away from me. “No–” I blurt, tugging on his shirt, “don’t. Please, it’ll just cause more issues and I really would just like to have one day without shit hitting the fan.”

Holden sets down the plate of food he has in his free hand and wraps both arms around me. “Okay, alright,” he breathes into my hair. “You’ll tell me if it gets worse?”

I nod against him. “I will. She’s pissed because you don’t give her attention anymore.”

“And I won’t again,” he says pulling back from me slightly. “I’m done with all that shit. You are what I want.” Holden smiles and kisses my forehead. “What did you tell me earlier? Show them who I am to you?”

I smile, already feeling better as the irritation and tension melts from my body with some sort of magic power that he suddenly has over me. One touch from him and I’m goo. My worries seemed to drift away in the wind and right now it’s exactly what I need.

“Hey,” he says gently as he releases his grip from around me and takes my face in his hands, those bright blue eyes boring into me with nothing but adoration behind them, “everything will be alright.” Holden smiles. “Just have some fun tonight, okay? The guys and I have to meet later after all this but when we’re done…” His voice drops into a low rasp. “I want to peel this dress off of you with my teeth.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks as my tongue flicks over my bottom lip. “You can’t say things like that to me.” I breathe, curling my fingers into the front of his shirt again.

“Why’s that?” He counters, that smoldering grin plastered to his face again.

“Because I’ll drag you upstairs myself.” I laugh trying to ease the ache growing between my thighs.

Holden tips his head back and chuckles. “Don’t tempt me, Sunflower.”

“Don’t tempt me, ” I grin.

He dips his head, capturing my lips with his. “I brought you food,” he whispers against my lips. “Figured you might be hungry.”

My heart swells as I glance down at the plate of food. At the same time my stomach seems to rumble at the sight of potato salad, ribs and two slices of watermelon. All piled on the plate and way more food than I’ll probably eat, but still, the idea that he thought about what I needed and took care of it himself is making it a hell of a lot harder to stand here and not drag him back to our bed.

“You’re making me hungry for a lot more than food right now,” I mutter, earning another light laugh from him.

A laugh rings out from behind us as Blake tosses a few empty bottles in the bin. “I saved you guys once from being caught doing nefarious things,” she grins as we both turn to look at her. “But see, now I’m torn on stopping this.”

“Blake!” I laugh.

The brunette shrugs. “You’re both hot, what can I say?”

“Jesus,” Holden sighs, tugging me closer to his chest in a brief embrace. “I’m escaping this conversation.”

“Oh C’mon, Nash! Let me watch.” Blake all but whines, though the grin on her face lets me know she’s only screwing with us.

“Absolutely not.” Holden shakes his head as he plants a quick kiss on my forehead once again and backs away from me. Something more than adoration flickers in his gaze as his pupils eat away at the blue in his eyes. “Eat, Sunflower. You’re gonna need all the energy. For later. ” He tosses a pointed look at Blake before moving around the bar and turning to find the rest of the guys.

“What a boner killer,” Blake teases, holding out a beer for me.

I take it with a laugh, taking a long swig. The hoppiness of it is bitter to my tongue but I relish in the warmth that blooms in my throat. I turn to watch Holden and Cole gather around one of the tables with a few of the guys.

Blake steps up next to me, leaning against the bar. “How you holdin’ up?”

I glance at her, taking another swig from my bottle and shrug. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to this world.” My gaze trails over to Layla and Jane. The two of them have floated over to where Holden and Cole stand. “Or that shit.” I tip my bottle toward them.

“Don’t worry about them,” Blake urges, nudging me. “Layla’s just throwing her weight around but it means nothing and Jane,” she scoffs out a laugh. “Jane is harmless.”

I glance at Blake. “You’re right. I’ve dealt with worse things than Layla’s pettiness.”

A wince crosses over Blake’s face. “if anyone can deal with her bullshit, it’s you.”

I wrap my arm around Blake’s waist, smiling softly as my eyes land on Holden’s. He smiles at me as Cole says something to get his attention back. Layla steps closer to Holden, her hand dragging up his arm until the flat of her palm lands over the rank patch on his cut. I stiffen, my eyes narrowing as that familiar anger bubbles up in my chest. Is it anger? It feels like my skin is crawling with the urge to shove Layla’s face through a window the longer her hand lingers on him.

“You want me to shoot her?” Blake asks, apparently also seeing the display Layla’s pulling.

“No,” I bite, setting the bottle down onto the bartop with a thud and pull out of my embrace around Blake.

“Where are you going?” She asks as I make my way around the bar.

I turn back to Blake with a sickly sweet grin. “To show that bitch who he belongs to.”

Blake’s eyes grow wide before a laugh erupts from her. “Keep the hair pulling at a minimum.”

I turn and glance over my shoulder. “I won’t need to pull her hair.”

Holden’s eyes find mine again, his brows furrow and his head cocks to the side questioning me all while Layla’s fingers languidly trace the patches on his cut, only fueling my need. I round the table dragging my hand along his back as I move to the opposite side between him and Cole. My eyes flicker to the snake-like look in Layla’s eyes before dragging my gaze up to Holden.

My lips part to speak when Layla leans over the table, grinning. “Sweetheart, the men are talking, so–”

“Layla,” Cole warns.

I glance at Layla. “See, Layla, the difference between you and me?” I feel Holden take a step towards me in the small space. “The men actually care about what I have to say. So I suggest you take your hands off of my old man before you lose them.”

Layla’s mouth drops open, her lips moving like a fish trying to gasp in air. “You’re going to let her talk to me like that?” She squeals, looking between Holden and Cole.

“Oh,” I tsk, “ sweetheart , they don’t control me. I guess that’s another difference between you and me.” I know I’m stooping to her level but if the only language Layla understands is petty bitch, then that’s where I’ll meet her.

Cole stares down at me in disbelief as Holden covers his mouth, biting back a laugh. He moves around me this time, standing behind me as I stare at the wide-eyed look on her face. Satisfaction rolls through me even as my heart hammers against my chest. I don’t even realize my hands are shaking until I feel Holden’s fingers intertwine with mine.

“I think it’s time for you to leave, Layla.” Cole finally says, breaking the stare between us.

“But-” Layla starts when Cole lets out a low rumble.

“Leave, Layla,” he warns.

She scoffs and crosses her arms over her chest, staring directly at me. If looks could kill, I would be a pile of ashes on the floor at Holden’s feet right about now. My body vibrates over the slight win as I step back into his chest. The grin on my face grows as I feel Holden shift behind me and as his warm breath fans over my neck, the embers that burn in my belly turn to flames. Holding Layla’s stare, I tilt my head ever so slightly giving my neck to him. I feel the upward curve of his lips as he grazes them along my skin.

Layla’s eyes go wide before turning to dark slits, daggers shooting from them as she lets out a frustrated screech and spins on her heel. The loud clacking of the cheap shoes echoes through the clubhouse as she makes her way to the door. Too distracted to care about the eyes on us I melt into Holden, still with my back pressed to his chest.

“What was that about?” He rasps, his lips barely touching the shell of my ear.

I turn my head to the side to look up at him. “She was touching you.” I didn’t mean for the words to come out with as much bitterness as they do but my body is still buzzing after that. It took a lot for me to stand up for myself, but I’m doing it little by little and Holden isn’t something that I want to lose to someone like Layla.

“Was she?” Never once have I wanted to smack the smug smirk off his face until this moment. My brows furrow as I scowl and step away from his chest, pulling my hand from his. “Hey,” he chuckles, attempting to grab me again but I move out of his reach. Holden raises a brow at me. “Cole, which room is empty right now?”

I hear him ask though those ocean blue eyes bore into mine. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Cole shift.

“The one the girls use.”

“Make sure they know it’ll be occupied.”

I feel my stomach flip as he steps towards me, this time taking my hand whether I want him to or not. He pulls me with him down the hallway, my eyes connecting with Blake’s as we march. Blake grins, giving me a thumbs up, clearly hearing everything that had happened and once again fulfilling the feeling of triumph radiating through me. Though the small green monster on my back still rages, the need for him is quickly taking over.

He kicks open the door, tugging me inside in front of him before kicking it shut. “What was that about?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Which part?”

“You pulling away from me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t realize that would hurt your feelings so much. Maybe Layla will comfort you.”

Holden chuckles and shakes his head. “Layla is–”

“Doing everything she can to put a wedge between us,” I interrupt. “How do you not see that?” “She’s no one, Kade.”

“She doesn’t seem to think so.” I drop my arms to my side. “So while you’re letting her put her hands on you, I’m supposed to what? Not care?” I shake my head. “If the men you call brothers can’t even look in my direction without a death glare from you, how do you think a woman you used to fuck touching you makes me feel?”

Holden stares at me for a moment before holding his hands up in front of him in mock surrender. “Alright.” he nods. “You’re right. I should have told her to fuck off.”

I let out the breath I’m holding as he takes a step towards me. “Yeah, you should have,” I mutter as he plants himself in front of me with little space between us. He cranes my neck to look up at him. “You’re an asshole,” I bite, but can’t help the upward tick on my lips.

He grins down at me. “I know.”

“She better not touch you again.”

“Or she’ll lose her hands?” He curls his fingers around the base of my throat, a playfulness in his voice I’m not ready for yet.

I press my palms to his chest and shove him backward. He must not have been expecting it because his back hits the door with a thud. “That,” I confirm with tension radiating from me. I step up to him and press my chest against his, gripping his jaw with my fingers, “and because you’re mine , as much as I am yours.”